One of the benefits of being age 50 or older is a "catch-up." Created by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (tinyurl.com/p6c736e6), catch-ups help future retirees with enhanced opportunities to save on a tax-advantaged basis.

This year (2026), those age 50 and older who are contributing to 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans can set aside $8,000 more than those under 50 for a total allowable contribution of $32,500. Those under 50 are limited to $24,500.

If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 this year, your catch-up is $11,250 instead of $8,000, for a total allowable contribution of $35,750 (provided your company's plan allows for this type of "super" contribution).

When you add the amount that your employer can contribute to the plan on your behalf, the overall limit for 2026, counting contributions by the employer and the employee, is $72,000 for those under age 50. For those 50 or older, the top limit is $80,000, except for those age 60 to 63, which is even higher at $83,250.

If you consider how many people take advantage of catch-ups, you can probably imagine it's not many. That's a problem, since we're talking about a potentially vulnerable group of "under-savers" who are getting close to retirement without sufficient retirement nest eggs.

Vanguard's "How America Saves 2025" report, which uses data from more than 1,400 qualified plans and nearly 5 million participants, offers some insight (tinyurl.com/486xmx4c). About half (51%) of those with incomes over $150,000 took advantage of catch-ups (if offered) in 2024, but only 16% of eligible participants of any income level did so.

Forty-nine percent of participants with incomes of more than $150,000 contributed the maximum allowed, and so did 41% of those with an account balance of more than $250,000.

Those participants who took advantage "tended to have higher incomes, were older, had longer tenures with their current employer, and had accumulated substantially higher account balances," stated the Vanguard report.

During 2024, 14% of participants of any age saved the then-maximum amount of $23,000 (or $30,500 for those 50 and older).

A recently released report by the Public Retirement Research Lab (PRRL), a collaborative effort of the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, offered a similar scenario.

Utilizing data from the 2023 PRRL Database 2, which included more than 900,000 participants representing 208 different plans, the percentage of participants eligible to make catch-up contributions was 36%, and of those, 5% chose to participate (tinyurl.com/mvycdtu6). Of those who did make catch-up contributions, 24% earned more than $150,000.

The reality is that for some with lower incomes, catch-ups are simply unaffordable. For others with higher incomes and insufficient savings, catch-ups can be lifesavers. Certainly, "super savers" will benefit (described by the Principal Financial Group as those who save 15% or more of their income for retirement, or at least 90% of the maximum allowed -- tinyurl.com/p3vz3ax5).

Before leaving this subject, there is another type of catch-up that is geared to employees who make $150,000 or more. Starting this year, for those who exceed FICA-taxable earnings of $150,000 in 2025, the catch-up will be recorded in after-tax dollars instead of pre-tax. That means that the catch-up will count as part of your W-2 income. To find out more about this 2026 change, read Fidelity's "Understanding new Roth 401(k) catch-up rules" (tinyurl.com/4dffwkwd).

For those with incomes below $150,000, the catch-up will be accounted for in pre-tax dollars, meaning those funds will not count as W-2 income, giving them the advantage of saving money on taxes. (Note that some company plans may offer after-tax catch-ups.)

Whether or not to do a catch-up will turn on your personal financial situation.

In the end, you'll want to engage your tax adviser or investment adviser before making a final decision. The most important exercise will be making sure that you are on track to meet your retirement goals.

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About 1 out of 5 people eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC) missed out on getting a "check in the mail" from the U.S. Treasury between tax years 2014 and 2022. Why? They did not claim the credit (tinyurl.com/36tjp3h7). As a longtime proponent of financial literacy education, that bothers me.

The EITC "helps low- to moderate-income workers and families get a tax break." And, importantly, it is a "refundable credit." (See the EITC webpage on IRS.gov -- tinyurl.com/4haknnxp).

Now, understanding the concept of a "refundable credit" takes some creativity: You can get a tax refund even if you don't owe a tax. Hard to understand, but the bottom line is this: If you qualify for the EITC, even if you don't need to file a tax return, you will want to.

The tax return in essence is your claim to a "check" from the government. That "check" arrives in your bank account in the form of a tax refund.

According to the IRS, if a taxpayer's tax bill "is less than the amount of a refundable credit, they can get the difference back in their refund" (tinyurl.com/bdebsrky). It's the reason that taxpayers who are not required to file a tax return might still want to do so, if they are eligible to claim refundable tax credits. As for nonrefundable tax credits, "once a taxpayer's liability is zero, the taxpayer won't get any leftover amount back as a refund."

Getting back to the EITC, a link on the EITC webpage will take you to the EITC Assistant, where you can answer questions to see if you are eligible.

There are a number of other tax-refundable (and non-refundable) credits available, and some have adjustments this year due to Public Law 119-21, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (tinyurl.com/2s48s73m).

Refundable tax credits (other than the EITC) include:

-- Premium Tax Credit, which helps "lower the amount eligible individuals and families pay each month for coverage under their qualified health plan purchased through a Marketplace." The IRS webpage "Premium Tax Credit (PTC) Overview" has more details (tinyurl.com/532m9spy).

-- The Fuel Tax Credit relates to fuel used for specific work-related activities -- operating a business or running a farm. The IRS notes on its Fuel Tax Credit webpage that the credit "is not available to most taxpayers" (tinyurl.com/3dyum2cv).

Some tax credits are partially refundable. One example: the Adoption Tax Credit (available to taxpayers who finalized an adoption in 2025 or started the process before 2025). See the IRS release "Tax credits for individuals" for more details (tinyurl.com/57bzkfy7).

Then there are nonrefundable tax credits, which can reduce taxes owed. Examples:

-- Child Tax Credit/Additional Child Tax Credit, which helps families with qualifying children get a tax break. The maximum amount for 2025 is $2,200 per qualifying child. See the IRS webpage "Child Tax Credit" (tinyurl.com/2s43ry99).

Note that the Additional Child Tax Credit is a refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit, with a possible refund of up to $1,700 per qualifying child.

-- Saver's Credit (also known as the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit), which allows you, if eligible, to take a tax credit for making eligible contributions to your IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan. The maximum credit is $1,000 ($2,000 if married and filing jointly). See the Saver's Credit IRS webpage (tinyurl.com/4rzd7xj5).

An important tool related to the tax credits is the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant (tinyurl.com/cyuxwj39). It addresses many of the credits and will help you determine if you are eligible.

The importance of financial literacy education, and specifically tax literacy education, cannot be ignored.

As Erin Collins explained in the National Taxpayer Advocate's 2025 Annual Report to Congress, "a family that is eligible but does not claim the EITC may miss out on thousands of dollars in refunds and end up paying more in taxes because they misunderstand the rules, meaning the families who need these funds the most are likely missing this tax benefit" (tinyurl.com/3d3rtpwk).

If you think you might be eligible for the EITC, or any other tax credit, then use the IRS resources to find out. You could end with more money in your pocket.

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No one wants to think about or plan for what happens after someone passes away. Yet there is no way around the fact that life does come to an end at some point in time, most likely well within a 100-year time span.

More than 3 million deaths occurred in the United States in 2024, including the very young (about 30,000 age 14 and younger), according to provisional statistics provided by the National Center for Health Statistics (tinyurl.com/3epvsvrn).

Because of the inevitable, you might think that everyone would try to make things easier on their families by organizing their affairs. However, that is not the case for 55% of Americans who have no estate plan (as reported in the 2025 Estate Planning Report survey of 10,000 respondents conducted by the website Trust & Will -- tinyurl.com/3umxc8yp).

From my perspective of more than 30 years of working with high-net-worth families, I can tell you that it's a mistake to leave things to chance. Like so many things that affect assets, individuals often are simply not educated sufficiently when it comes to planning for the future.

However, helpful tools are available.

Two -- estateexec.com and executor.org -- focus on the role of serving as an executor of an estate.

Another resource helps with planning ahead. Called Buriedinwork.com, the website was founded by Adam Zuckerman, an estate attorney who became the executor of his father's estate in 2023 and found the experience "overwhelming, emotional, and full of hidden hurdles."

If you don't know where to start, the Plan Ahead section begins with an Estate Organization Quiz, which makes a key point in response to the question "Do you have a system in place to track and collect your critical information and end-of-life wishes?": "[W]hile you think you're organized, the question will only be answered after it's no longer possible for you to help."

Take a look at the Estate Essentials bundle that includes an estate summary worksheet and a planning pyramid. (The CLEAR Kit, which is offered for a fee, provides more comprehensive estate organizing options.)

Also look at "What a Will Does (and Doesn't Do)"; "There Are Three Ways to Create a Will" (I'd recommend the one involving a lawyer); and "Will Requirements by State" (tinyurl.com/38ph28rs).

You'll also find "What to Do When Someone Dies" (which discusses steps you need to take within the first few days, along with handling funeral plans and financial affairs), "How to Update your Estate and Finances After Divorce" (as well as a separate checklist that covers the same topics when getting married), and "How to Select the Right Legal Guardian for Your Children" (topics include "Evaluate Their Parenting Style and Values" and "Assess Their Financial Stability").

Another resource (for a fee) is Buried in Work's "After Loss To-Do List Consultation," which includes a 60-minute one-on-one Zoom or phone call that occurs within 72 hours of booking and involves an end-of-life expert who will guide the caller through "essential action items" to help avoid missing deadlines (tinyurl.com/afxesevr).

One of the issues when trying to plan ahead is how to talk about the future with family members. For a fee, there is "One More Story," which seeks to engage family members in storytelling, and "Nothing Left Unsaid" and "EOL (End of Life)," which help promote conversations about topics involving end-of-life issues and estate planning (tinyurl.com/5cb8uzjc).

To reiterate, planning ahead for a future event that is sure to happen is no easy task. I can assure you that no matter how difficult it may be to get started, we're talking about simply getting organized so that decisions can be made. With more complex situations, finances, income and estate taxes, and legacy wishes all need to be addressed with precision and competence. You want the best for your family after all. Take this opportunity to ensure that your wishes are fulfilled and your family is taken care of.

In a future column, we'll discuss how to find and work with a trusts and estates lawyer.

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